The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1887-01-27


dciicd fatigue, left the scdentary jewellers in
courted. or scorched them with heat when
they ventured TO bask supinely IN the sun
White muslin curtains at the French win
dows, and rugs, skins and heavy furs dis
persed in tho interior, with certain other
charming but incongruous details of furni-
ture, marked the inconsistencies of the cli-
mate.
There was coqucttish indication Of this
in the costume Of Miss Kate Scott as she
stepped out on tho veranda that morning.
A mans broad brimmed Panama hat, partly
unscxcd by twisted, gayly colorcd scarf,
but retaining enough character to give
piquancy to the pretty curves of the face
beneath, protected her from the sun; a red
flannel shirt-anothcr spoil from the enemy
land thick jacket shielded her from the
austerities Of the morning breeze. But tho
next inconsistency was peculiarly her own.
Miss Kate always wore tho freshest and
lightest of white cambria skirts, without tho
least reference to the temperature. To the
practical sanatory circumstances of her
brother in.law, and to the conventional
criticism of her sister, $40 opposed tho same
defense: "How else Is one TO tell whom it Is
summer in this ridiculous climates And
then, wooden is stufry, color draws the sun,
and one at least knows when one is clean or
dirty" Artstically the result was far from
unsatisfactory. 1t was apretty figure under
the somber pines, against tue gray granite
and tho stcely sky, and seemed to lend tho
following fields from which the flowers had
already fed floral relief of color. do rot
think the few masculine wayfarcrs Of that
locality objrted to it; indeed, some had
betrayed an indiscrcct admiration, and had
curiously followed the invitation Of Miss
Kate's warmly colorcd figure until they hal
encountered the invincible Indifference of
Miss Kntes cold gray eyes. With these
manifestations her brothcr.in.law did not
concern himself; he had perfect confidence
In her unqualified dis,utcrcat in the neigh.
boring humanity, and permitted her. to
wander in her solitary picturesqueness, or
accompanied her when she rode In her darl,
green habit, with equal freedom from
unxicty.
For Miss Scott, although only 20, bad
already subjected most Of her maidenly illu-
siors to mature critical analyses. She had
voluntarily accompanied her sister and
mother to California, in tho earnest hope
that nature contained something worth say
ing to her, and was disappointed to find she
had already discounted its value in the pages
of books. She hoped to find vague free
dom in this unconventional life thus opened
to her, or rather to show others that shc
knew how intelligcntly to appreciate it, but
as yet she was only able to express it in tho
one detail of dress already alluded to. Some
of the men, and nearly all of the women, she
had met thus far, she was amazed to find,
valued the coavcntionalities she believed she
dcspised, and were voluntarily assuming this
chains she thought she had thrown off. In
stead OF learning anything from them, these
children of nature had bored her with eager
questionings regarding the civilization she
had abandoned, or irritatcd her with crude
limitations of it for her benefit "Fancy,"
she had written to friend in Boston, "my
calling OH Sue Murphy, who remembered the
Bonner tragedy, and who once shot grizzly
that was prowling round her cabin, and
think of her begging mo to lend her my sack
for pattern, and wanting to know il polo
nays were still worn" She remembered
more bitterly the romance that had tickled
her earlier fancy, told of two college friends
of her brother-in-law's who were living the
perfect life" in the mines, laboring in the
bitches with copy Of Homer in their pockets,
and writing letters of the purest philosophy
under the free air Of tile pines. How, COM
ing Unexpectedly on them in their Arcadia,
the party found them urprcsentable through
dirt, and thenceforth unknownble through
domestic complications that had filled their
Arcadian cabin with half-bred children.
MuchY of this disilusiop she had kept
within her own heart, from a feeling Of
pride, or only lightly touched upon it in her
relations with her mother and sister. For
Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Scott had no idols to
shatter, no enthusiasm to subdue. Firmly
and unalterably conscious of their own
superiority to tho life they led and tho CON-
munity that surrounded them, they accepted
their duties chcerfully, and performed them
conscientiously. Those duties were loyalty
to IIale's interests and vague missionary
work among the neigbbors, which, like
most missionary work, consisted rather In
making their own ideas understood than i'm
understanding the ideas of their audience
Old Mrs. SCOTS zeal was partly religious,
an Inheritance from her Puritan ancestry;
Mrs. Hales was the affability of gentle
woman and the obligation OF her position.
To this was added the slight languor of the
cultivated American wife, whose health has
been affected by the birth of her first child,
and whose views of marriage and maternity
were slightly tinged with gentle sccpticisn,.
She was sincerely attached to her husband,
"who dominated the household, like the rest
Of his women folk" with the faint con-
sciousness Of that division of service which
renders the position of the sultan of serag-
lilo at once so prominent and SO precarious.
The attitude of John Hale i'm his family cir
Gle was dominant because it had never been
subjected to criticism or comparison; and
perilous for the same reason.
Mrs. Hale presently joined her sister on the
veranda, and, shading her eyes with mar.
row white hand, glanced on the prospect
with polite interest and ladylike urbanity.
The searching sun, which. as Miss Kate once
intinated, was "vulgarity ITSELF" stared at
her in return, but could not call blus, to
her somewhat sallow cheek. Neither could
1t detract, however, from the delicate prctti.
ness of her refined face, with its sof. gruy
shadows, or the dark, gentle eyes, whose
blue-veincd lids were just then wrinkled into
coquettishly n,ischievous lines by the strong
light. She was taller and thinner than Kate,
and had at times certain shy. GOV sinuosity
of movement which gave bei more virginia.
suggestion than her unmarried sister For
Miss Kate, from her earliest youth, Had been
distinguished by that matronly scduteness Of
voice and step, and completeness Of figure.
which indicates some members Of the gal.iEa-
ceous tribe from their callow infancy.
u suppose john must have stopped at tic
Summit OH some business said Mrs. Hale,
"or ho would have been here already. It's
scarcely worth while waiting for him, uricss
you choose to ride over and meet him. Yeu
might change your dress" she continued,
looking, flo:,bs fully sk E,.ts.ix cs,st ,rf,e Ant